Bleached Alien
by Alex McM
Summary: Alien with Bleach characters. An unwanted visitor boards the commercial towing vessel, the Nostromo. It is the ultimate killing machine and it is out for blood! In space, no-one can save your soul. Co-written with The Layman.
1. The Discovery

**BLEACHED ALIEN**

No, the Aliens aren't literally bleached, this is a crossover, though that should have been obvious to you anyway. This is a new project, a joint venture with another great author, the Layman. This is almost an exact replica of the movie plot, but it is not word for word...We're better than that! Hopefully all goes well and you enjoy it. Please read and review, it means a lot to us to read your comments.

**The Discovery**

_--Aboard the Nostromo-- _

The light musical hum of machinery did nothing to wake the sleeping passengers. Trapped in a dreamless artificial sleep, the small crew lay frozen in their capsules. Cryosleep was necessary to survive the long trips between planets. The supplies on board had never been sufficient enough to satisfy the needs of the whole crew for the long trips there and back. The solution; freeze them for several days until they reached their destination.

The ships computer received a signal, one that it could not ignore. In following with proper protocol it undid the hatches on the cryo-tubes and one by one, the crew awoke restlessly. They climbed out of the glass-walled capsules and got dressed in bland white uniforms. Even the ship's cat, a black tabby named Yoruichi, began to stretch in it's own pod.

"Hey captain, when you're done putting on your eyebrows how about giving us a hand with those shipping reports?" a young woman said as she hopped out of her cryotube. Her short black hair was parted uniformly though a stray bang found it's way to her face, dividing it in half. She snickered at her own little joke and waited for the captains response.

The red-head looked up from a mirror and frowned. "Stop talking about my eyebrows like that, Kuchiki! I don't care what you say, it looks cool!"

"Why don't you just get the actual tattoos? It's not like you fainted from the pain the first time you tried...." The lead engineer grinned beneath his white and green hat.

"Shut up Kisuke! At least I don't wear a stupid hat everywhere I go!" The captain closed his eyes and sighed. "Keep it together, you are the captain..." He whispered under his breath.

"So why did the 'Captain Commender' wake us up? We're still pretty far from Earth, aren't we?" another member of the crew asked timidly. She hid behind the others and looked around nervously. Her chestnut brown hair was straight and came down to her lower back. She fiddled with the brown locks while she waited for the answer.

"I don't know, I'll go check it out. You guys go have breakfast." Captain Abarai Renji wandered off to the consoles while the other eight crew members trudged into the dining room. Bland, white plastic chairs sat beside a bland, white plastic table in a bland, white walled room. It made them feel even more tired, but they struggled on.

They sat down and looked at the questionable meals set out for them. A grey sludge that would barely count as prison food was served in white bowls. They stared at it for a while before eating.

"It may look like crap and taste like a monkeys ass but at least it's food!" A large bulky engineer said, setting a bowl down in his spot. "Which means Miss Inoue Orihime made it," he said as he shovelled the grey sludge into his mouth and swallowed it whole.

"Geez Tessai, haven't you heard of chewing?!" Kisuke said jokingly. Tessai mock punched his co-worker in the arm and chuckled when Urahara cried out.

"Would you two clowns spot it!" The black haired girl scolded them. "How could you become engineers with such small brains?"

"Sorry, Miss Kuchiki..." Tessai muttered. Kisuke leaned over and whispered something in Tessai's ear.

"Hey! My cooking's not that bad!" Orihime stated indignantly as she entered the room. The two engineers snickered like school kids and Rukia groaned.

"God, I can't wait until we get back and I can have a break from you two!" Rukia flicked back her raven hair and took a bite out of an artificial meat.

"Don't be too hard on them, Warrant officer Kuchiki." A man with brown hair glanced over at the two bickering engineers. "They may not be the brightest sparks in the fire, but their aid is necessary."

Rukia sighed. "I guess you're right Aizen..."

"Of course I am; now calm down and let us enjoy our meal." Aizen tucked into the inorganic sludge and made no indication of whether he liked it or not.

They ate in silence until they overheard footsteps. The captain walked in to the curious gazes of the whole crew. He looked around at the assortment of people and then looked out a window at the dark expanse of space.

"So what's the story, morning glory?" Kisuke asked. Tessai punched him.

"It's a beacon...of sorts..."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rukia cocked her head.

"Well, it's just a series of beeps and something else, but I can't work it out." Renji led them to a console in the cockpit where he pressed a blue button. A strange beeping noise came out from a speaker and an unusual crackling noise played underneath. Everyone looked around nervously.

Renji groaned, "We have to follow Company orders and investigate."

"Why?" Tessai replied arrogantly.

"Because we have to! If you want your cut then you'd better follow orders!" Renji snapped. Tessai muttered under his breath and looked away. "Inoue and Kuchiki, you can steer the ship. Tessai and Kisuke, you two clowns can busy yourselves down below. Make sure the rigging is secure and such." Nobody moved. "Come on, move it!" The crew snapped into action.

Rukia and Orihime sat down at the control panel. The ship was cumbersome and was hard to steer. Inoue pressed a series of buttons and pulled a lever before taking the wheel and guiding the ship towards the source of the beacon.

A dull little planetoid only a short distance away. It didn't look like anything special, but there had to be something there to have a transmission coming from it.

The ship buckled as it struggled to turn. "We're experiencing difficulties. The refinery is too heavy! It's being drawn into the planet's orbit!"

"Go faster!" Rukia instructed. "Faster! Keep going!"

"We're getting pulled in!" Inoue shrieked. "I can't keep it steady!!" As the ground below came into view they noticed a large object in the distance. It looked like a ship, only a very different one. The odd design led them to believe it was from a foreign nation, though it was still confusing. Inoue put it out of mind for now and tried to stabilize the ship as it hurtled towards the ground.

"Hold onto something!" Rukia yelled as the ship rolled in mid air. Inoue grappled with the controls while screaming and managed to steady it before it hit a rockface. The side of the refinery grazed the low cliff and the ship crashed through small rocky outcrops as it headed closer and closer to the ground. The vessel landed roughly and Inoue fell forwards onto the controls while her co-workers fell to the floor behind her.

When the ship stopped rocking, they got up and studied the area around them. The engineers crawled out from a hole in the floor and cursed.

"What the hell was that?!" Tessai roared.

"The ship was too heavy to get out of the orbit so we had to do an emergency landing." Rukia explained. "Is everyone okay?"

The four companions around her nodded. Aizen and Hanatoro stepped out of another room and confirmed they were fine.

"Maybe the beacon was a distress signal?" Aizen suggested. "There was a crashed ship out there."

"I know, I saw it on the way in," Orihime concured. "I didn't really recognize it, but it looked like it crashed pretty recently."

"Yeah, it looks pretty strange though, it's not a company vessel." Renji commented.

Rukia looked at the crew and frowned. "Maybe we should send a group over there to investigate. While they're doing that, I can try to decipher that signal. It sounds like a message of some kind..."

"Good idea. Inoue, Hanatoro, we'll go investigate that ship." Renji walked towards a space helmet before turning to face the two engineers. "Alright, the rest of you, I want this ship fixed so we can get out of here when we get back. Aizen, we'll keep in touch over the radios. Rukia, get to work decoding that transmission. We'll be back shortly." With that, Renji, Inoue, and Hanataro stepped into their exploration suits and sealed their helmets.

The trio went into the decompression chamber and waited for the internal and external pressure to equalize. When the decompression was complete, the outer hatch opened with a low hum and a fierce gust of wind billowed in. Renji reflexively shielded his face from the dust which was hurled at him.

The land was barren made up of mostly dust and rocks. The outline of the strange ship stood out in the distance. The exploration team set off towards it, forcing idle small talk as they made their way to the crash site.

"Where do you think it's from?" Inoue asked absent-mindedly.

"I don't know, but none of the ships from Earth look like that..." Renji placed a hand on his helmet because his chin was trapped inside the helmet.

"You mean it's...extraterestrial?" Hanatouro gasped.

"Possibly, but I'm not ruling anything out until we've checked it out. Come on!" Renji picked up his pace and forced the others to do the same. It took ten minutes to reach the giant ship. The odd shape was asymmetrical and had pieces jutting out from it with no apparent reason or purpose.

The group stared at the baffling structure. No sane human mind would create such a bizarre vessel. But someone, or something, did.

Renji's suit beeped and an inbuilt radio transmitted a message from their ship.

"Captain, are you at the ship yet?" The voice was crackly, yet Renji knew it was Aizen.

"We're right outside. I thought you had visuals?"

"Something's blocking the lenses." Aizen explained simply. Renji wiped the lens of a small camera on the side of his helmet. Aizen confirmed he could see now. The captain ordered the rest of the exploration squad to clean their visors as they went inside.

As soon as they entered the ship, the air grew cold...incredibly cold. Inoue shivered even though she was wearing a hevailly insulated suit.

They proceeded onwards through two large, expansive rooms, both which seemed to be completely bare. Broken machinery littered the floors, though none of it seemed to have a readily apparent use.

"This can't be real!" Hanatoro gasped, gawking at the strange equipment.

The trio split up for several minutes to scan the area until Inoue squealed with delight. "I found a door!" She played with a control panel while the others reached her. After a few minutes of trial and error, the door jerked open. A cloud of dust covered them and the trio had to wipe their visors again.

Inoue coughed despite the fact no dust could get into her helmet.

Renji squinted through the dust and gasped. "What the hell?! Aizen can you see this?"

"Um, not exactly...What should I be seeing?" Aizen asked mechanically.

"That...thing!!" Renji pointed for the benefit of his two companions and they all gazed at the huge object in the centre of the room.

"It looks like a...gun, or something?" Inoue muttered.

"No, it's...it's a...lifeform..." Hanatoro wandered over to the huge 'thing'. It was an animal, yet it's skin was textured like steel. At a glance it looked like it was part of some special machine instead of an independent organism.

The creature was propped up against a strange seat. It's arms were spread out and it was sitting limply in the chair. It's stomach was ripped open, though there was something wrong about the wound on it's stomach; it looked like it had been torn from the inside...

"This is..." Renji trailed off, staring wide eyed at the dead alien lifeform.

"What on Earth is that?" Aizen asked.

"You're the scientist! I was hoping you could answer that one!" Renji snapped.

Inoue ran a hand over the creatures icy, metallic flesh. She shrieked and jumped back only to be glared at by the captain.

"I would be careful if I was you." Aizen warned.

"Why? This thing is as dead as it could be." Renji muttered.

"Yes, but that means _something _must havekilled it. Be extra careful." Aizen sounded serious.

Renji felt sweat roll down his forehead. "Well, maybe we should come back?"

"No!" Aizen growled. Renji jumped from the surprise. "You are the _captain_! Surely you know what to do when you find something of potential interest to the company! You must investigate!"

"But, we shouldn't risk our lives. If it's dangerous then-"

"Captain, you will be fine. Check out the rest of the ship and then come right back."

"Are you okay Aizen?" Renji asked, raising an eyebrow even though no-one would see it.

"Perfect, Captain. Why shouldn't I be?" Aizen answered mechanically.

Renji shrugged and instructed his team to check out the ship.

They split up again and cautiously wandered around the expansive room. Inoue gazed at the dead creature in shocked awe while the others conducted their search.

Hanatoro cast his gaze over a small hole in the wall. He ducked to get through, and found a larger hole on the other side. This one in the ground.

"Hey guys, over here! I found a lower level!" Renji ran in first and whistled when he saw the huge underground level.

"This ship is even bigger than it looks from outside..." Renji reached into his back pack and pulled out a rope. The small team set up a makeshift elevator out of a few more supplies while Hanatoto studied the hole.

"This hole should not be here. It looks like acid or something burned through it...but what could possibly do that?"

"Well, tell us if you find out." Renji hurled a torch at the weak-looking man and saluted as Hanatoro lowered himself down.

Armed with only a torch, the scared young man wandered deeper into the cavern.

* * *

Meanwhile, back on the Nostromo, Rukia tapped rapidly on her keyboard. She replayed the transmission over and over again and tried to get the ships numerous programs to analyze it further. She played it several more times, and then gasped.

"Oh no!" She ran to Aizen, struggling for breath. "Aizen! That message...It's a warning!"

"What?" Aizen asked distractedly.

"The message isn't an S.O.S, it's a warning. It's telling us to stay away from here!"

"Well it's a bit late now." Aizen muttered snidely.

"Tell them to come back!" Ruia demanded.

"No."

"Why not?!" Rukia crossed her arms.

"Because we lost contact five minutes ago." Aizen said with a wave of his hand.

"What?! That's it, I'm going to get them myself!"

"You can't."

"Yes I can, while Renji is gone, I am in charge and if I want to go, I go." Rukia explained confidently while getting into an exploration suit.

"Rukia, you aren't going out there! If it really was a warning, I'm sure they'll realise that long before you reach them!" Aizen snapped. His face still looked the same despite his angry outburst. Rukia glared at him in silence for a moment before getting out of the suit.

"Damn you.... If something goes wrong it's all your fault!" Rukia warned.

"Don't worry, Warrant officer Kuchiki...nothing will go wrong." Aizen smiled wickedly.

_To Be Continued..._

* * *

_Layman here, how are you all! I hope you're all liking mine and Alex's attempt at this crossover/parody. The Impeccable Mr. McMullen actually wrote most of this chapter, I just fixed some minor mistakes and "Bleachified" it a bit. _

_But anyways, please review this. If you like Bleach or early Alien, than you'll probably like this. He and I are both working hard on this, so please let us know you appreciate it. _


	2. The Visitor

_Layman here, Alex McMullen there, and next chapter right below. Hope you enjoy, and please review!_

* * *

**The Visitor**

Hanatoro stepped cautiously over the strange coating of organic fiber that covered the ground. The walls were covered in something that resembled steel pipes and machine parts. Though it was not made of metal at all, but rather some kind of hard shelling.

Hanatoro ran his hand over it a few times while reporting it to Renji and Aizen via radio as he made his way along the wall.

He decided to walk in the middle of the floor. As he shone the torch over the area he discovered something incredible.

The whole room was littered with eggs. It was a gigantic nest! Hanatoro reported it to the others, who sounded almost as excited as he was.

"There are thousands of them!! It's amazing!" Hanatoro walked alongside the eggs, which gradually rose up to his thigh. The ground became uneven at this point, He stumbled a few times but readily caught himself. He cast his gaze over the expansive room and became lost in the strangely mesmerizing spell of these eggs. This time he stumbled but failed to steady himself, instead falling flat on the ground in front of an egg.

The egg sack was pulsating. It's surface was veiny and a dull grey-green colour. It consisted of four lips which would probably split apart to reveal the embryo inside. The egg sack did as thought and its top split like a flower bud.

"The egg...it's hatching!!!" Hanatoro yelled, excited at the phenomenon to which he was present.

"What does it look like?" Renji asked, as neither he nor Orihime had a clear view of the young scientist anymore.

"I don't know..." Hanatoro lifted himself up to see inside the egg. "There's a thin membrane covering the infant..." Hanatoro gazed at the wet pink sheet which covered whatever creature lay beneath. The silhouette of the creature suddenly flashed by as the egg glowed. "What the...?"

The membrane parted to reveal something the colour of old bones. A dirty yellow creature lay curled up inside, Hanatoro could make out that much.

But before he could get a better look, the creature lunged with lightning speed and attached itself to his helmet. Hanatoro screamed as the creature spat something on the glass which made it melt away. He screamed louder as the monster wrapped its spidery legs around his head and its tail constricted around his throat. He thrashed about as the monster inserted something in his mouth. The crushing grip on his throat choked the air from his lungs.

The struggle was over alomst as quickly as it had begun.

*****

"Hanatoro? Are you there? Hanatoro!" Renji frowned and looked down at the abyss beneath them.

"Why isn't he answering?" Inoue whimpered.

"I don't know...We'd better check it out."

The two frightened people made their way down using their elevator. They got off at the bottom and looked around nervously. Renji used a torch to scan the area, and immediately noticed the eggs. "Jesus! What the hell is this?"

"It looks like a nest...but of what?"

Renji shrugged ignorance, and continued calling out 'Hanatoro!' over and over, hoping he would get a response. Only silence answered. Renji looked over the first few rows of eggs and spotted something lying on the ground.

It was Hanatoro!

Renji ran over and dragged him out into an open area. "Holy shit! What happened to him?" Something was covering his face, something he had never seen before. Inoue shrieked at the sight of the fallen officer.

"Dammit! We'll have to take him back to the ship! Help me lift him up!" Renji and Inoue struggled to carry the man back to their elevator. They passed the time by studying the strange, skeletal mask on Hanatoro's face as the elevator rose slowly.

When it reached the top with a loud 'click', they set off, carrying the dead weight of their companion back to the ship through the fierce dust storms that were still raging around them. The ground was treacherous and they fell numerous times, but when they finally neared their ship they could make out the faces of Rukia and Aizen in the pilot area. Their shocked expressions made the two weary explorers feel worse.

"Rukia, let us in! Hanatoro has been knocked out by...something." Renji sounded unusually calm.

Rukia stared out the window at the lifeless body of Hanatoro. She grappled with her decision and she closed her eyes to think.

"Rukia?!"

"Shut up!!" Rukia yelled at the radio. She clenched her eyes shut and bunched her fists. Her decision could be the end of the entire crew. She let out a long sigh and took a deep breath. "What exactly is that thing?"

"We don't know! It must be some kind of native life-form. Now hurry up and let us in! He needs help before this thing kills him!" Renji demanded.

Rukia pinched the bridge of her nose. This situation was already too stressful for her. "I...I can't." She muttered shakily.

"What?!" Inoue gasped. "Dammit Rukia, he's going to die unless we get him to the infirmary!! Please let us in!"

"No," Rukia stood her ground, "you will need to go into quarantine. All of you."

"What's going on up here? I hear a party." Tessai and Urahara strolled into the pilot room where they could see their co-workers on the deck outside. Tessai's eyes widened when he saw the group outside, "Whoa! He doesn't look too good."

"So let him in already," Urahara requested.

"No, dammit!" Rukia yelled. Everyone went quiet and she explained herself again, "If we let that unknown creature on-board, it could escape and kill us all!"

"But it's going to kill him! Just let them in!" Tessai shouted.

"I can't! Company policy-"

"Fuck the company!! _I'm_ the captain and _I'm _telling you to open the god-damn doors!! Let us in or I swear I will tear you apart!" Renji banged his fists on the wall of the ship.

"Renji, do you want everyone one of us to die?! You need to go into quarantine!" Rukia pressed, her voice rising. Sweat was pouring down her forehead, this whole argument was really draining her.

She took a deep breath and prepared to speak when the hatch doors opened. Her jaw dropped as the trio spilled into the ship and Hanatoro was rushed to the infirmary.

Aizen walked past them and approached Rukia with a menacing smile. "I opened the hatch for the captain."

"Why?! Now you've doomed us all, baka!" Rukia threw her hand up in rage and her cheeks flustered. "You were supposed to obey my orders! I am your superior dammit!"

"Actually, in any case involving concerns in my field, I am made superior to you." Aizen grinned.

"Bullshit!"

"No, it is the truth, Warrant officer Kuchiki. I have deemed this creature of interest of me and the company and so it must be brought inside so that I may study it." Aizen's eyes flickered.

"You've screwed us over, Aizen! Your stupid little act will cost us all our lives! I hope you're happy."

Aizen chuckled and turned away, "I'm always happy." Rukia glared at his back as he paced out of the room and headed to the infirmary.

In the inrfirmary, Hanataro was layed down gently on a table. Renji and Aizen worked together to cut the helmet away from Hanatoro's head.

When they pried it away they both gasped in shock. A creature, unlike anything seen before, had attached itself to his head. Eight bony, spidery legs wrapped around the back of Hanatoro's head, hugging him in a deadly embrace. A coiled tail was wrapped around his throat like a noose.

Renji grabbed the creature and tried to pull it off, but the tail constricted tighter and Renji jumped back.

"Hmm...if we interfere then it will just constrict tighter..." Aizen grasped his chin as he thought. "Pulling it off would result in tearing half of his face off too..."

"Maybe we could hurt it? If we cut off a leg then maybe it will try and run away?" Renji suggested.

"At this point, I don't see why not. Hand me a scalpel," Aizen said, extending a hand to retrieve the small blade. Scalpal ing hand, he leaned over the strange creature and picked a leg. He tapped it with the blade, as if it would inhibit a response, but none occurred so he went on with the procedure. He drove the blade into the skeletal leg and yelped in surprise when a few drops of yellowish blood spurted out. Aizen stepped away as it made a tiny puddle on the floor which began to sizzle. Smoke rose from it and it burned through.

Aizen's eyes narrowed. "It's acid! Quickly, stop it before it reaches the outer hull!"

Renji repeated the order to those standing outside. The group scurried about and went down to the next floor where the acid had burned through again. They proceeded down to the next floor and placed a small sheet of metal in front of it. The acid burned out on the sheet, leaving a blackened dent. The crew sighed and made their way back to the infirmary.

Aizen picked up a pen and put it into contact with the acid around the hole in the floor. It melted on contact and smoke billowed from the blackened tip.

"Hmm...This creature emits a highly corrosive acid as a defense mechanism. It takes it's killer down with it. Amazing." He set the pen down on a table and glanced at the rest of the crew. "From what I have seen, it would be too dangerous to try and remove this creature."

"B-b-but it will kill Hanatoro!" Inoue whined.

"Actually, this creature seems to be keeping him alive." Aizen motioned them over to a set of monitors, "I have taken some scans and they show that he is getting enough oxygen to stay alive, despite being strangled. This creature is feeding him with all the vital ingredients needed for survival."

"But...why?" Renji asked.

"Well, I'm not sure, but one way or the other, it wants Hanatoro to stay alive. I say we leave it in here and lock down the room. We will monitor it's progress and take the appropriate action later." Aizen clasped his hands together and walked over to a computer.

Renji trudged outside and approached Rukia, who stared at him with blank eyes.

"You're lucky."

"Why?" Rukia whispered.

"Because if Hanatoro was in real danger, I would be kicking your ass right now." Rukia looked at him incredulously, but let him continue. "Thankfully, this thing is intent on keeping him alive." Renji looked back at the infirmary. And left without another word.

Rukia went in the opposite direction and bumped into Inoue, who glared down at her.

"What?"

"You were going to let him die out there!" Inoue snarled disaprovingly.

"That was the past, get over it." Rukia shoved her aside and walked past into the next room. She wanted to be alone. She couldn't help but think something awful was about to happen...

*****

An hour later, while sitting at a table and staring into empty space, Renji was alerted by someone yelling. He followed the source of the sound and came across the group, who had gathered around Aizen outside the Infirmary. He pushed his way through to Aizen and demanded what the fuss was for.

"The creature. It has...well..." Aizen trailed off, nodding his head towards the glass.

Renji pushed Aizen out of the way and peeked through the window. The room looked the same, nothing was out of place. Hanatoro was still lying on the table.

Then he noticed it...Hanatoro's face was in clear view. The little creature was gone!

"Where is it?" Renji demanded.

"Well, we haven't-"

"Search the freaking room! Find it!!" He took out a torch and opened the door. Rukia and Aizen followed, both armed with torches. They opened the drawers and checked every corner of the room. Nothing so far.

Rukia got down on her knees and looked under Hanatoro's bench. The light cast by her torch danced across the empty floor and she groaned. Their search was going nowhere and-

"AAAAAGGGGHHHHH!!!!" Rukia screamed when she realized what her hand was brushing. Panicking, she grabbed the surprising little creature and hurled it across the room. As she hyperventilated and cried, Renji and Aizen ran to the motionless creature. Either Rukia threw it too hard or it was playing dead or...maybe something else...

Aizen slowly knelt down to study the monster. It's legs were curled up underneath itself, still in their hugging motion, though more relaxed. He poked it with his torch and then stepped back, in case the creature should move. After twenty seconds of no response, he concluded it was dead.

Renji helped his panicking companion to her feet and they crowded around the small, otherworldly corpse.

"Why is it dead? It was perfectly alive an hour ago." Renji cocked his head.

"I don't know...But I'd like to study it further if-"

"What?! We have to get rid of it! Throw it out into space for all I care, just destroy the thing!!" Rukia stopped complaining when Renji gazed at her with a serious expression. He glanced down at the dead creature and then up to his two companions. He sighed and looked to Aizen.

"Since this is in your field...I'll leave the decision to you."

"Thank you. I would like to contain it and study it further."

"Whatever, I don't care. It's your responsibility now." Renji muttered while he led Rukia out of the room. The others waited expectantly, hanging on for the latest news.

"It's dead." Rukia gave them their wish. A small wave of relief swept over them.

"Soooo...how's Hanatoro?" Urahara queried.

"Still unconscious..." Rukia sighed.

"So...he's going to be alright?" Inoue chipped in.

"He should be fine." Renji said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. The frail woman smiled weakly at the gesture and the crew went back to their duties.

_Not nearly over yet...._  
____________________________________________________

Well, we hope you enjoyed that. Don't miss the next chapter, when our little 'friend' shows his fangs!


	3. The Surprise

The nightmare continues! Sit back, relax and think of happier times, because from here on out, things get ugly...very ugly! Enjoy and review. Seriously, don't be stingy, it only takes ten seconds and it helps greatly.

**The Surprise**

* * *

The crew sat idly by as hours ticked away. Inoue played with the ship's cat, Yoruichi, tickling its belly softly as it rolled about on the floor. Captain Renji had lost himself staring out pone of the ship's viewports, the two engineers worked on the rigging, and Rukia paced up and down the room, anticipating an update in Hanatoro's condition.

Eventually Aizen's rhythmic, symmetrical footsteps could be heard, pounding on the ground. Only it sounded as if he was running... The door to the living quarters burst open and Aizen collapsed into the room, doubled over and breathless.

"Everyone! Quickly! Hanatoro...he just...come on!" He couldn't even for a sentence. Aizen sprinted back the way he came and the others followed behind, slightly rushed by Aizen's urgency.

Aizen hurried to the infirmary and wrenched the door open, dashing inside quickly. Rukia caught the door before it closed and went in, only to find Hanatoro sitting on the table.

Perfectly fine.

"Hanatoro!? You're...OK?" Rukia asked slowly, still in disbelief.

"I guess so, but I'm feeling _really_ hungry." The young man hopped off of the table and walked over to the group, "So, what happened?"

"You don't remember anything?" Inoue asked. Hanatoro shook his head.

"All I can remember is blacking out and having nightmares that I was being strangled..."

"Some kind of alien/bug/thing latched onto you. It knocked you out for a while, but it's dead now." Renji explained. "Now," he slapped the young man on the back, "let's get some food in you! The captain commander should be done making dinner by now." Renji lead Hanatoro to the kitchen and glanced over his shoulder at Inoue. "Orihime, get him a glass of water, would ya?"

"Sure," Inoue skipped off.

"Hmm, water's just about the only thing she _can_make," Urahara muttered. _"Barely."_ This garnered a few chuckles from his coworker.

When everyone was seated, plates of food were handed out; synthetic hamburgers with artificial chips, delicious if it you liked the taste of plastic.

Hanatoro dug into his burger, shoving it down his throat and drowning it with water to make it go down faster. He followed it up with a large handful of chips.

"Geez man, haven't you heard of chewing?" Tessai joked.

"Guess getting attacked by an alien parasite give you an apatite!" Renji cajoled.

Hanatoro ignored them both and ravenously consumed another burger.

"Slow down or you'll give yourself a stomach ache!" Rukia scolded. As if on cue, Hanatoro suddenly stopped eating and hunched over, clutching his stomach. "See, I told you!" Rukia folded her arms and smiled...at least until Hanatoro began groaning.

"Is he alright?" Inoue queried.

"Hanatoro, what's wrong?" Renji placed a hand on his co-workers back. Hanatoro's reply was a chilling howl.

"Shit! Somebody get a med-kit! Hurry!" Renji grabbed Hanatoro and repeated his question. "What is it? Do you feel like throwing up? Is it a cramp?"

"Argh, It hurts!!" Hanatoro roared. He fell onto the table, his eyes gazing up at the ceiling. He began to thrash around violently and everyone gasped.

"He's having a seizure! Hold him down!!" Renji restrained his chest which was rising and falling rapidly. The rest of the group held down his arms and legs. Hanatoro growled and roared as his body writhed about in agony.

"What the fuck is wrong with him?!" Rukia cried.

"I don't know!! Do I look like a doctor to you?!" Renji barked.

"Actually, yes," Rukia retorted, "now shut up and keep holding him!"

"AAAAGGGHH!" Inoue screeched and released her grip on Hanatoro's legs, which kicked out and knocked her to the floor.

"Inoue?! What are you doing?!"

"He's bleeding!" Orihime sobbed while holding her bruised cheek, pointing at the convulsing young man.

Sure enough, Hanatoro's white shirt was soaked through with blood in a large patch on his chest. His stomach rose and fell violently, as if a baby was kicking hyperactively on the inside, desperately trying to escape.

"Aizen!! What's wrong with him?!"

Aizen stared in disbelief. "I-I-I don't know! Maybe he broke a rib, or he's having a heart attack, or-"

"!!!!" Hanatoro suddenly screamed, a sound so awful it froze the blood in everyone's veins and made their bones quake. The poor man spasmed one last time before his chest exploded in a crimson fountain, spraying his internal fluids over everyone present. Gibbets of flesh spat out from the ragged wound and covered many of the unfortunately placed co-workers.

Everyone stared, repulsed at the tiny, bone-white head sprouting from Hanatoro's broken ribcage.

Nestled snugly between his intestines, a hideous, eyeless face glared up at them. It cried like a newborn baby, only this sound a haunting cry that only served to further shock the crew.

Before anyone could move, it leaped from it's host and slithered across the floor on an eel-like body with two short, limb-like extensions on each side. The dull brown/grayish eel disappeared out of sight, leaving the crew still frozen in place.

After a minute of paralysed terror, the screaming began...

*****

The clean-up was the most torturous exercise the crew had ever done. No-one ever expected to one day have to scrape their friend's flesh from the dinner table, or to scrub his blood from their clothes, or to sweep up his entrails into a bin. Everyone underwent their own grim duties, because every second in which they stared at the fresh mess, it just made them feel nauseous. It was half for respect for Hanatoro and half to stop them from throwing up. Unfortunately, the latter happened several times as they cleaned.

Even after they were done nobody spoke, still trapped in their shock induces comatose state. This was stranger than anything any of them had ever experienced. In all the years of medical history and space travel, _never_ had a man's chest erupted for the hideous spawn of an evil parasite to leap out. Just thinking about it made them feel sick; and unfortunately, there was nothing that could take their minds off of it.

When everyone was capable of speech again, they regrouped in a different room; no-one wanted to return to the dining room, not for the rest of the trip.

Renji pinched the bridge of his nose and clenched his eyes shut as he let out a stressed groan, "Alright, nobody here understands what happened in there...but we need to try and remain focused. That...that _thing_ is still out there."

Everyone looked somber; in fact, the mood couldn't have gotten any more miserable if they tried.

"Well, what are we supposed to do then?" Rukia whispered.

"Catch it," Urahara answered. All eyes fell on him, "I for one don't like the idea of that thing creeping up on me in the bowels of my own ship, so I say we find it and we kick it's ugly ass!"

"Hmm," Renji mused, "it would be good for morale if we were to avenge Hanatoro. That creature has fucked with the wrong crew!" Renji punched the palm of his other hand and glanced around at the rest of the crew. "OK, our task for now is to figure out how to catch this little bastard. We'll meet back in ten minutes and share ideas."

They all nodded agreement, split up, and attempted to devise the right strategy to hunt down the monstrous little beast that was right now lurking somewhere on their precious ship.

*****

At the strategy meeting, everyone looked around disappointedly; only two people seemed to have come up with a plan. The two engineers, Tessai and Urahara smiled confidently as they approached the group.

"Alright, we have a plan!" Urahara beamed, a contrast to his mood earlier. "Myself and Tessai have made up some little tools to help us! Firstly, we've made these locators," he held one up for all to see. "They act like radar and should ensure that the monster won't sneak up on us! Secondly, we've made this!"

Tessai revealed wooden rod with a metal tip.

"What is it?" Rukia asked.

"It's a weapon, a bit like a cattle prod. Only this baby will send a shock strong enough to fry the little bastard!" Tessai laughed wickedly and pressed a switch on the rod that made the tip crackle with electricity.

"Well done," Renji clapped, "how many of those you got?"

"Two of each so far, but that should be enough for the time being," Urahara answered.

"Right then! We'll split into two teams, each armed with a prod and a locator. We'll search the ship and keep contact over the radios. Oh, and if you can find _anything _else that looks like it could be a weapon, grab it. Everyone got that?" Everyone nodded and crew split up. Rukia stood around while everyone got sorted into teams faster than she anticipated. As Aizen, Inoue and Renji strolled off; the two engineers chuckled and approached her.

"Guess it's just you and us, Kuchiki!" Urahara goaded her.

"Shut up, you _baka aho*_!" Rukia stomped off down the corridor as the two snickering men followed. The trio proceed down the endless corridors of the lower levels of the ship, finding nothing for what seemed like hours.

After wandering around aimlessly for _far _too long, Rukia snapped.

"Goddamn it! Why are we searching the bottom levels of the ship?! That thing couldn't possibly have gone this far in such a short amount of time! It's probably still up around the top levels!"

"Okay, okay, no need to get your panties in a knot!" Urahara mumbled.

"Oh just shut up, you stupid bastard!"

"Too late!" Tessai joked. The two engineer's laughs hysterically as Rukia groaned and stormed off. "Should we follow her?"

"Probably, the captain kind of implied we should stay together down here. Besides..." Urahara winked at Tessai, "this is fun!"

The moronic mechanics caught up to Rukia as she went up a floor, and after a shaky truce continued their search. They did a brief search, still finding nothing, so they went up another floor. They trudged down yet another endless hallway, now on the verge of sleep.

**'Beep, beep, beep.'**

Everyone bolted upright and Urahara checked the radar. A white dot was located nearby. Urahara looked up the hall, then back down again. "It's in that room," he said, pointing to a small hatch on the wall.

Everyone braced themselves for their second encounter with their wretched little visitor and slowly, _slowly,_ crept into the room....

_Only going to get worse.... _

* * *

_Oh my, whatever will they find, it couldn't possibly be that creature, could it? I just have no idea! (Note the sarcasm.)_

_Anyways, just one little note. *__Baka aho __roughly translates to "Idiot Retard". "Baka" meaning idiot and "Aho" meaning retard. If you even go to Japan, be careful which one you call people. Depending what part of the country you're from, one is more insulting than the other. _

_See, who says you don't learn aything from this site? _

_Please review this story, you know you want to!...._


	4. The Hunt

Sorry for the slow updates, but here is the next thrilling installment brought to you by me and my excellent beta-reader The Layman. We hope you enjoy the story and encourage you to review. It can only make us write better, so you win in the end of the day.

* * *

**The Hunt**

Urahara stiffened at the sudden beeping from the radar. His eyes became glued to the dusty screen, which showed a small white dot near their positions. He froze and slowly looked up at a small hatch on the side of the wall.

"He's in there..." he whispered fearfully.

Tessai tightened his grip on their make shift cattle-prod and slowly approached the hatch.

"Be careful." Rukia said quietly, just in case the little monster had better hearing than they did.

Tessai nodded before taking another step towards the den of Hanatoro's murderer. He stepped up to the small door and placed a hand on the small handle. As soon as his fingers clasped the cold steel, a loud hiss came from within. Tessai leapt back and held out the stunner with shaking hands. Silence followed for several seconds.

Then Tessai turned sharply to face Rukia, "Open the hatch for me."

"What?! I don't want to-"

"Look! I don't have eight arms alright! Open the door so I can get in and fry the bastard before anything happens! Got it?"

"F-fine then..." Rukia walked over to the hatch and gripped the handle with both hands. She took a deep breath and looked to the others who nodded. She yanked the handle and the door opened a crack, letting out steam which got in their faces.

"Quick! I see it!" Urahara yelled.

"Where?!" Tessai roared.

"Just sitting inside!"

"I see it too!" Rukia shrieked.

Tessai jammed the poker inside the hatch and the thing hissed menacingly. Tessai stuck the device in further and was about to pull the trigger when Rukia pushed him back.

"Wait!" She cried.

"What are you doing?! The alien will-" Tessai tried to barge past her.

"It's not the alien!" Rukia stood firm and Tessai backed away.

"Well then what is it?"

"It's Yoruichi." Rukia ducked inside the small room and cradled the little ball of fluff in her arms. "Something gave her one hell of a scare though..."

"Heh heh, it was just the cat..." Tessai chuckled before growling and throwing the cattle-prod to the ground. "Dammit! That radar is fucking stupid!"

"It's not stupid! If it can detect Yoruichi, then it can detect the alien!" Urahara defended his creation.

Tessai closed his eyes and calmed himself down. He stooped in front of the cat and smiled. "You gave us quite a scare there, Yoruichi. You should be more careful from now on."

The cat stared inquisitively with its yellow eyes, then it padded off down the hall.

"Hey, Yoruichi come back!" Tessai frowned. "Now what?"

"Well, if we let her run around freely, this kind of mistake will just keep happening. We should catch her before resuming the search."

"Right!" Rukia clapped her hands together in agreement. "Kisuke, you can go find her, since she's your cat."

"Huh? You were supposed to be holding her!"

"No, you're going, now hurry up!" Rukia pointed in the direction of the run-away tabby.

Urahara growled under his breath and jogged off after the cat. Tessai and Rukia looked to each other and frowned.

"Might as well follow. We don't want him to get lost." Tessai strolled off after his co-worker. Rukia followed reluctantly.

*****

Urahara stumbled through the small, cramped corridor after Yoruichi. Low hanging wires made the roof seem even lower, so the tallest man in the galaxy, he still had to run doubled over. He began to catch up with the little kitten, but then she began to run faster. Her claws clattered on the steel floor. Urahara sped up as well, but just as he came within reach, the troublesome tabby darted in through a crevice in the wall. Urahara cursed and checked his surroundings.

"Let's see...she's going through to the next room which, if I'm not mistaken, is the engine room..." Urahara ran on down the corridor and then turned left. He ran another ten meters before reaching the large room that contained the engine as well as other large machinery.

He wandered out into the open and spun in a circle, casting his gaze on every corner of the room. He was about to give up when he saw a flickering black tail. He tip-toed over to it, but Yoruichi sensed him. She turned to face him and bared her tiny fangs.

"Sorry," Kisuke cooed, "you lost the game of tag. Now come on, let's get you out of here." He kneeled down to scoop up the little critter, but she hissed aggressively.

"Geez, what's up your ass? Come on Yoruichi. It's me, Kisuke!"

The cat still hissed, though her menacing gaze seemed to stare straight through him, as if there was something...behind him...

Urahara whirled around expecting to see something, but there was no-one and nothing there. He shrugged and turned his attention back to his uncooperative cat.

"Okay, enough games. Come here!" Urahara watched Yoruichi retreat back a few steps and then curl up into a ball. "What's wrong with you? What's there to be scared of?"

Urahara went on, oblivious to the prehensile tail behind him that stretched down from above. It was dark grey (almost black even) and shiny, with an almost mechanical look to it.

Urahara noticed he was sweating profusely. The high temperature in this room was almost unbearable. He wiped a large bead of it from his face and frowned.

Splat!

Urahara looked to a spot to his left where a large droplet of liquid had landed beside him. He cocked his head and tried to think of anything that would be leaking in the room. Then it happened again. Yoruichi screeched and ran off under his legs and out the room. The engineer was about to follow when he noticed the shadow enveloping him. He looked straight up into the eyeless face of death itself.

Dark as night with cruel fangs and wicked claws, only it's lidless skull gleamed white. It was like something from a nightmare. The beast opened its jaws and snarled, a hideous sound, chilling Kisuke to his very bones. He was paralysed with fear; he couldn't run, no matter how hard he tried.

"What the fuck are you?!"

The monster reached down with large, skeletal hands and picked him up by the head, lifting him slowly towards its mouth. Urahara managed to scream in agony as his upper body was ravaged by the new breed of killer. The beast dragged him back up towards the ceiling, melding with the shadows to look as if it never existed.

*****

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHH!!!!"

Tessai and Rukia both gasped.

"Urahara!" They bolted down the low corridor and charged into the engine room just to see Urahara's legs flailing about as he was dragged up towards the ceiling by an unseen assailant. Tessai took the prod and ran to where his friend was standing. He looked up, searching for the engineer, but he could only see shadows.

Rukia joined him, now holding Yoruichi (whom she discovered in the hall outside). They both looked up, but to no avail.

Something dropped down. Tessai caught it and stared at the human arm. "Holy shit!!"

He threw it to the ground and looked up in time to see a torrent of blood cascading down on them, like an unnaturally coloured rain. It washed over them for several seconds while hideous crunching and ripping noises came from above.

Not wanting to stay there and meet the monster, they fled as fast as their bodies would allow.

Urahara's hat floated down after they, settling in the pool of it's former owner's blood

*****

The crew gathered in their main living area. All were solemn after hearing of Kisuke Urahara's death.

Renji lost himself in thought while the others talked amongst themselves quietly.

"So, let me get this straight." Renji interrupted them and all eyes fell on him. "This creature, which we saw earlier when it was only this big." He stretched his arms out to the general length of the monster that burst out of Hanatoro. "Has grown so large that it can pick up an adult man and drag him into the airshafts like nothing?"

"Yes," Rukia replied simply.

"That's impossible. How could that little thing grow so powerful in only a matter of hours?" Everyone turned to Aizen who shrugged.

"It must have a very advanced life cycle that allows it to grow at an alarming rate and become an adult in a short amount of time. Either that, or this sudden growth is an indication that these creatures don't live long, in which case it could die of old age in a matter of days."

Everyone seemed hopeful, but Aizen made it dissipate.

"Though that last theory is pretty unlikely..."

"Right, so we've got to find this big son of a bitch and try and kill him with little tasers?" Renji asked sarcastically. "Tessai, what other weapons would you be able to make?"

"Um...with the materials we have...Probably a flamethrower or two..."

"Anything else?"

"Probably not. Sorry." Tessai hung his head.

"Well, it will be more effective than these things; a shock from one of these would only tickle that thing!" Renji hurled the prod to the ground and sank back into his chair. "Get started on those flamethrowers, I want them ready within two hours!"

"Yes sir." Tessai left the group to start on his new weapons.

The others looked around anxiously, as if the creature was going to burst into the room suddenly and attack them.

"It's using the air shafts to move around, we'll have to go in and track it down. Now fighting it would be useless, so we'll use the flamethrowers to flush him out into an airlock or something. That way we can just shoot him out of the ship and he'll die out there." Renji grinned at his own little strategy, though the others felt less convinced.

"That's a lot harder than it sounds," Inoue whimpered, "and it sounds pretty hard to begin with."

"Yeah, and who would be the person unlucky enough to have to crawl around inside the shafts with that monster lurking around?" Rukia asked.

The group looked around anxiously. This wouldn't be an easy decision...

_Into the proverbial lion's den...._

* * *

_Layman here, saying review the dang story!_

_Now that last bit is out of the way, here's a little pointless trivia! _

_In the original draft, Tessai and Urahara's roles were reversed. This doesn't really line up with the movie, as it's not the black guy (whom Tessai represents) who goes after the cat. _

_Well, that's all for now, keep reading!_


	5. The Plan

It's been way too long since the last update. I'm sorry for the hiatus but that's over now. rest assured the next wait won't be so long. Enjoy and don't forget to review!

**The Plan**

"So...Who's it gonna be?" Renji asked again, expecting an answer. Shockingly, he never got one. Instead everyone stared at their feet or off into space, unsure of who to nominate for the clearly suicidal mission. This was the same thing he'd gotten for the past two hours.

"Chasing down space monsters through the ducts of the ship isn't in my contract," Tessai said, re-entering the room with the weapons in tow.

"I don't want to go in there!" Inoue whimpered.

"Me neither," Rukia concurred, "but somebody has to do it, or we'll all die!"

Renji lost his patience. "Come on! Somebody raise your hand and volunteer!"

Everyone stared back at him blankly. Those who had witnessed Urahara's death knew full well the grave danger they faced going up against the monster; they knew they stood little chance. But those who weren't there had no clue what they were facing. The threat of the unknown was just as petrifying as the others.

And so the problem arose; with no-one daring enough to go into the airlock, the plan was a failure before it even began.

Renji scowled at his cowardly crew and gritted his teeth. "Oh for fucks sake I'll do it myself! Useless, every one of you! I guess I'll go take the bullet for the team. I mean it's not like I'm important or anything, I'm only the bloody captain of this vessel!"

Tessai brandished on of the makeshift flamethrowers. He frowned at Renji. "Sir, I could do it-"

"No. I've already made up my mind. If you want something done well around here you have to do it yourself." He snatched the flamethrower and stormed off. "Now I want you to use the trackers and give me updates on the creature's location. I'll have a radio with me when I go in, so be sure and let me know when I'm near the bastard so I can get him before he gets me."

"Yes sir!" Rukia saluted. It wasn't entirely necessary, but she had a bad feeling that Renji may not be coming back.

Tessai gave the captain a quick run through on operating the weapon and they headed to a small hatch which led into the air shafts. Renji took his own tracker device with him, but since he needed to have his eyes peeled for the sinister creature that lurked within the darkness he would be less than able to actually use it.

He grunted as he crawled into the shaft. It was dusty and he coughed. "This better be quick!"

"Good luck captain!" Inoue beamed heroically, a single tear escaping down her face.

Renji nodded and fixed himself into a half crouch; hunched over but still able to stretch his legs. He cursed himself for agreeing to go along with something so stupid, but at least it would finally put his mind at ease when that big ugly monster is gone.

"Renji? Renji do you read me?" It was Inoue's voice over the radio.

"Yeah. I read you loud and clear. What's the situation?"

"On the third left you will come to an area with three paths. Tell me when you reach it."

Renji made his slow crawl through the air vents. It was irritating; the dust build up was so bad he felt like he was going to sneeze so hard his eyes would pop out. He refrained from doing so since a noise that loud in a cramped air-vent would cause an echo that would lead the alien straight to him.

Renji struggle on, counting the second left and passing it. He still kept a cautionary stare on the abandoned paths behind him. When he reached the third left he turned and suddenly his tracker made a light beeping noise.

"Inoue, update!"

"Yes sir. The monster is nearby. If you take the right hand path and follow that until the next cross way you should be able to sneak around the back of it."

"Where is the airlock from there?" Renji asked.

"Um...A few twists and turns away."

"Alright. Thanks, Inoue."

"Your welcome captain. Oh, and good luck."

"Thanks, I'll need it," Renji sighed and made his way down the specified vent. Sure enough after a two minutes he found the vent veer off to the left. He followed it until it curved back around. The tracker beeped again. Renji panicked "Inoue?"

"Don't worry. It's still moving away from you. You should be able to- Uh oh..."

"'Uh-oh'? What's that supposed to mean?" Renji whispered urgently.

"It's heading back your way! Stay back and be careful!" Orihime instructed fearfully.

Renji couldn't help it. He stared down at the tracker and watched the glowing white dot as it headed towards him. He held his breath and felt sweat pour down his forehead. The dot was getting closer and closer until...

"Ah! It disappeared!" Orihime cried.

"What?" Renji hissed.

"Th-the signal! It vanished! We can't trace it!"

"Let me have a look at it," Tessai's voice came over the channel, "it might just be a loose wire or something."

"Sorry Captain," Inoue apologised, "this shouldn't take too long."

Renji thought for a moment. "Dammit. I guess I'll have to do it the old fashioned way." He pulled the gas trigger on the flamethrower and then pulled the secondary ignition trigger, causing a large burst of flames to envelop the cramped space, illuminating the vent ahead. Renji let go and proceeded further down the tunnel before doing it again.

Eventually he made it to the cross way. "Any sign of the alien yet?"

This time Rukia's voice came through. "Not yet captain, Tessai's still messing with the tracker. Be careful."

Renji sighed. "Why me?" He doused the cross way in bright flames and then headed down to where the signal was last traced. The spot was empty, but another series of separate paths confronted him. He headed down the centre path and followed it as it wound it's way around. It was like a steel hedge maze, only with added claustrophobia and the threat of a big hungry beast hunting you down for it's dinner.

After ten minutes he felt the fatigue of lumbering around for so long. He sat down and leaned against a wall, keeping his eyes ahead of him, watching and waiting. Just in case.

"Captain? Are you alright?" Rukia asked, her voice tinged with concern.

"I'm just tired, that's all," Renji wheezed. "Where the hell am I?"

"You're near the central airlock; it's a large grid formation and you're in the lower east corner. If you want to reach the airlock then head right and take the fourth turn. Head straight forwards and eventually you will arrive at the airlock," Warrant Officer Kuchiki explained, speaking slowly so that he could grasp it better.

"Okay, thanks. Still no sign of him yet?"

"We're working on it..." Rukia replied quickly, if rather uncertainly.

Renji resumed his awkward crawl through the air vents, dwelling on his dizziness rather than the instructions. He passed the third left and then cursed. "Shit! What turn was it again? I can't remember..." Renji grabbed the sides of his head and scowled. "Geez, this headache is killing me!"

A loud hiss made him freeze. Chills ran down his spine and he glanced down at the locator. There was still no signal. He took a deep gulp of air and shakily raised the flamethrower. He headed up the third left, ignoring the already forgotten directions. All he cared about now was finding the monster and making sure he was one step ahead of it.

He heard a loud bang up ahead, but the resounding echoes came from all over the place and squatting in the centre of a crossroads was not helping.

"Rukia? Orihime? Any signals yet?" Renji whispered slowly, turning his head in each direction to scout for the alien. He prayed they got the detector working soon...

"No, why? Have you found it?"

"No, but I can hear it...Hurry up and-"

The terrified screams on the other end made him wince. He panicked and backed away only to trip and fall back, making a loud thud on impact.

"Captain you have to get out of there! It's coming straight for you! Run for it!"

Renji peered down all of the paths and didn't find the alien. Nonetheless he panicked and started to run. He found a ladder against a wall and started to climb up it. It was a delayed climb with the added weight of the flamethrower, but fear and desperation drove him to climb higher.

"It's gaining on you! Hurry!"

Renji made it up the ladder and closed a small hatch over the manhole. He sat back and sighed, but an entirely different noise was heard; a loud, venomous hiss. He stared down at the hatch and chuckled.

"Guess I gave him the slip this time!"

It was then that he felt hot air blow into his face. He glance up into the vague figure of the monster. In the darkness it's features were barely visible, only the metallic shine that gleamed off of it's grey, metallic exo-skeleton and it's white, skull like mask. He could see no eyes in it's sockets, but the teeth...

Renji felt his breath catch in his throat. He couldn't even scream...Just stare into the glistening fangs that dripped with thick gooey saliva. The cruel over-sized incisors shown in the dim light. Renji stared at the monster with wide eyes. The moment seemed to last for ages but the sighting lasted only a few seconds until the monster grabbed the captain, (knocking his radio away in the process), and dragged him off down the air vent, leaving only his flamethrower behind...

"Captain? Where are you?" Rukia's voice called, starting to get panicky. "Captain? Captain!"

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

Rukia and Orihime stared wide-eyed at the radar map. Both signals disappeared. Renji was not responding. They feared the worst.

"The captain is...is..." Orihime covered her mouth with her hands and began sobbing.

Rukia bashed a fist down on the table and cursed. "Dammit! Our plan failed and we've lost another crew member. We have to think of something fast and get rid of this monster once and for all!" Rukia cradled her chin in her hands and stared at the empty screen.

"Maybe the Captain Commander can help us?" Tessai asked before tunring to comfort the distraught Orihime. "Rough day huh?" She nodded morosely.

Rukia approached a door on the far wall and pressed a small button to open it. As the portal glided across a rail into the door frame Rukia glanced back to the others. "OK, I'll check to see if the Captain Commander has any ideas. Wait here."

She headed down a winding corridor and passed Aizen's office. She ignored the ship's science officer and headed on through the antechamber to the Commander's console. She sat at the large computer and began typing, her fingers stabbing away at the keyboard, inputting her message to the super-computer.

~CC, requesting assistance in quarantine of aggressive lifeform.~

Rukia waited for the response. When it came up on screen she was less than impressed.

~Denied~

"What?" Rukia gasped. She hurriedly typed a reply.

~Situation is urgent. Assistance is needed~

~Denied. Unauthorised interference with Special Order 937 prohibited.~

~What is Special Order 937?~

Rukia waited for the answers which slowly crept up on-screen.

~By order of the Company. Request for specimen of alien lifeform for necessary study. Specimen must be in good condition. Crew are expendable if need be.~

Rukia's hands trembled. She couldn't believe it; the Captain Commander was programmed to ignore their pleas for help! The company must have known about it all along! They knew about the alien and they set this up to bring one of the creatures back to the Company so that they could 'study' it.

"You bastard! Screw you and screw your Special Order 937! We'll kill that thing alone if we have to...but we sure as hell aren't letting that monster reach the Company's hands!" Rukia rose from the console and scowled at the lifeless computer.

"Tessai! Orihime! Get over here quickly! I have something to-" Rukia turned to the doorway only to find it blocked by Aizen. He worse a menacing grin and his eyes seemed to blaze with malice.

"Warrant Officer Kuchiki, you were told not to interfere." He spoke calmly, his voice like poison.

"What?" Rukia backed up against the wall.

"Rukia...I'm afraid I cannot let you destroy the specimen. If you won't stop of your own accord, then you leave me no choice..." His head leaned to one side and his murderous grin spread.

"...But to destroy you."

_We're back, Jack! And blacker then ever! _

_Sorry about the uber long hiatus, that's all over and done with now. AND PLEASE REVIEW! Please? It would mean so much to both of us._

_Next time; When machines fail us..._


	6. The Secret

**The Secret**

Rukia stared wide-eyed at the computer screen. The grim message drained the colour from her flesh and her hands were trembling. Thankfully, rage took over and she rose angrily from her seat.

"You bastard! Screw you! Screw you special order 937! We'll kill that thing ourselves if we have to, but we sure as Hell aren't bringing it back!" She ran from the computer, calling out the names of her crew members. When she reached the door it was blocked.

"Aizen! I-"

"Warrant Officer Kuchiki, you were told not to interfere." Aizen's voice was strangely monotonous. There was something wrong; his smile was more akin to that of a sadistic killer than a doctor. He blocked the exit with his body, preventing the smaller officer from getting out.

"Move it! I have to tell the others!" She barged into him, but bounced right off as if he were made of rubber. She stumbled back and tried to think of a way past him.

"Rukia...I'm afraid I cannot let you destroy the specimen. If you won't stop of your own accord, then you leave me no choice..." His head leaned to one side and his murderous grin spread. "But to destroy you."

Rukia instantly started to panic. She looked around for a weapon but found none. She backed away but Aizen kept edging closer and closer, his steps so slow and small it appeared as if he were gliding towards her.

"Stay away from me!" Rukia cried, but Aizen just kept on coming. Rukia charged at him and threw a wild punch. It connected with the side of his head and for a moment Aizen became paralyzed. Rukia didn't take the distraction as a green light to run but instead hesitated, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Aizen's eyes suddenly set on her and his smile vanished, a vicious scowl in place instead. Something was oozing out from his temple, but it wasn't blood; it was a foul, sludgy mucus with an awful dull cream colour.

Rukia's eyes narrowed. "W-What are you?"

Aizen responded with a fist. Rukia thought it was a punch but his fist enclosed around a clump of her hair. She cried out alarm and tried to pry his hand off but he yanked his hand up and tore the hair free from her scalp.

Rukia dropped to the floor and crawled away, but Aizen was once again upon her in no time. He grabbed the back of her shirt and lifted her to her feet, then he took a firm hold of her arm as he hurled her across the room into a wall. She hit the blank white wall hard and waves of pain rushed through her body. She screamed in agony as she found it impossible to stand.

Aizen kicked her onto her back and picked up a pilots manual. He rolled it up and then shoved it down Rukia's throat. She writhed about frantically, clawing at Aizen and the paper which she was being force-fed. Her muffled screams did not carry far, and even she found it difficult to hear them.

Aizen pressed down harder and Rukia gagged. She couldn't breathe and the rolled up paper was up against the back of her throat now. If he pressed down any harder she would start swallowing it and that would be the end.

Tears were rolling down her cheeks as her struggle became more sluggish. Her eyes started to drift shut and her arms fell limply by her side.

Suddenly, the door behind them burst open and Tessai and Orihime barged through.

"Rukia!" the young pilot cried.

Tessai pushed ahead of her and grabbed Aizen's shoulders, prying his hands away from the rolled up paper. Aizen relieved one hand from his weapon and clawed at Tessai. The bulky engineer tried to push him off but the crazed science officer found a pressure point and the giant fell back. When Tessai was out of the way he returned his attention to Rukia's demise.

Tessai cursed and pushed himself off the ground, grabbing a nearby steel pipe. He swung it like a baseball bat, striking the madman right in the chest. Aizen stumbled back and let go of the paper.

Orihime swooped down on Rukia and helped her up, removing the makeshift gag from her mouth. Rukia coughed violently as her breath began to return and Orihime watched over her while the others fought on.

Tessai prepared to swing again but Aizen jerked suddenly and his mouth opened partially to spew out more of the white substance. Tessai wavered as Aizen spat out more of the stuff, leaving a hideous puddle at his feet. When the gushing liquid stopped Tessai charged and brought the pipe down on Aizen's head with everything he had.

Aizen's body remained still, but his head detached from his shoulders until it only held on by a small scrap of flesh. The massive, ragged wound did not bleed the crimson fluid humans did but the same milky stuff he vomited earlier. Rather than muscle tissue and exposed bones there were hundreds upon thousands of wires and circuits and steel bones.

Aizen continued to advance, even with his head rolling about beside his shoulder. His hands clenched awkwardly as he staggered onwards. Tessai roared and bludgeoned him until Aizen was on the ground and no longer moving.

When the confrontation was over he dropped the pipe and cursed. "A robot...Aizen was a _fucking robot!_"

"Impossible..." Orihime whimpered, clutching Rukia protectively.

Tessai glared at the mechanized madman and reached out to poke the lifeless thing. As his finger contacted the cold rubbery flesh Aizen jerked violently, grabbing Tessai's arm and dragging him closer so that the mysteriously guided hands could wrap around his throat. Tessai toppled over and became wedged between the wall and Aizen.

"Get this thing off of me!" he cried.

Orihime screamed in a fit of panic and used the pole Tessai had used; only this time she used it as a spear, running it through Aizen's spine creating a rain of sparks and explosive crackles. The sparks startled the poor girl and she leapt back crying out in fright.

Aizen stopped moving and flopped over uselessly. Warrant Officer Kuchiki just stared at him. She was still in disbelief. It was hard enough to comprehend what the Captain Commander had said. Add on to that Aizen's attack, and now the fact he was a synthetic android...it was all too much.

"Okay, seriously, what the fuck is going on? Why is Aizen a fucking machine? Why was he trying to kill us?" Tessai growled whilst pulling himself up from the floor.

"Special order 937…" Rukia whispered.

"What?"

"Special order 937. The company knew everything. They knew about the alien life forms, they wanted us to bring one of them back for research."

"No!" Orihime cried. "Why would they do that?"

Rukia looked down at her feet, "I don't know. I'm not sure what is going on; but if anyone does, it's Aizen."

"Well that's great. I just lopped his fucking head off!"

"He's a robot, remember? We might be able to reboot his systems. He was programmed by the company and he knows everything. He was in on this mess the whole time...right under our noses."

Tessai cursed again and kicked Aizen's dismembered corpse (if it could even be called that anymore.) "This is bullshit!" he growled.

"I know, but we have to find out the truth. Aizen might even know how to destroy this monster, who knows? We just have to try at least." Rukia kneeled down over the ragged wound in Aizen's neck. Rubbery tissue which looked like organs encased some wires while others were left uncovered. She pieced together the puzzle of mechanical guts as best she could and tried to spark some life into the android with a few shots from a device she retrieved from Inoue.

Rukia leaned back and stared at Aizen. "Aizen, can you hear me? Aizen?"

There was no response from the severed head. Rukia asked again but got no response. She lost patience quickly and drummed her fists on the table. "Aizen!"

His eyes shot open and a torrent of the milky blood poured out of his mouth. When it dripped away his mouth opened and a distorted imitation of the science officer's voice rung out. _"I can hear you."_

"Good, tell me what your orders were."

_"To bring back the specimen. Top priority,"_ Aizen said in a monotonous tone.

"But what about us? Don't they care?" Tessai asked.

_"Negative. I repeat, Specimen is top priority. All others expendable." _Aizen replied, his voice sounded more inhuman and far more robotic.

"Well it's not _our_ priority." Rukia muttered. "Aizen, how do we kill it? There has to be a way!"

Aizen grinned smugly, _"You can't."_

Tessai cursed under his breath. Aizen ignored him and went on. _"You misunderstand this creature. It is the perfect being."_

"You sound like you admire it," Orihime said in disgust.

_"I admire its resilience. It is a survivor. With no conscience, no remorse...no deluded sense of morals. It is admirable."_

"Rukia, shut him up now," Tessai snarled.

Rukia ignored him and kept an eye on Aizen.. Tessai tapped her shoulder and scowled at her. "I told you to pull the plug!"

"Not yet," Rukia whispered.

Tessai grumbled to himself and walked off.

_"I need not lie to you about your chances."_ Aizen continued. He closed his eyes and when they re-opened his smug expression returned. _"But you have my sympathies."_

Rukia punched him in the face and knocked the head across the room. "Dammit! We'll blow up the ship! We'll take our chances in the shuttle." She rose to her feet and glanced at her companions. Inoue was staring off into space, distractedly.

Tessai gave her a helping hand and together they walked out with Tessai trailing behind. He paused for a moment and looked back to the motionless Aizen, his vile grin still affixed to his face. It brought a scowl to Tessai's face and he blasted the synthetic with his flamethrower, melting the rubbery flesh until it was nothing but a charred pulp.

When they were all back in the hall they began pacing towards the rec room. "So if we pull the switches how long would he have to escape?" Rukia looked to the bulky engineer.

"I'd say about ten minutes."

"Shit…" Rukia checked around the corner to make sure nothing was there. When she was satisfied she turned back to her crew. "Fine, you two go down and get as much coolant as you can. I'll go get the shuttle ready. We'll meet back here in..." She looked down at her watch. "Seven minutes and then we can flip the switches and blow that fucker up. Got it?"

Inoue seemed hesitant but Tessai coaxed her into moving down the hall. "Alright, seven minutes."

"Yeah," Rukia smiled before jogging off one of the adjoining corridors.

Tessai watcher her go before assisting Inoue down the ladder.

Despite Aizen's grim words, Rukia, Tessai, and Orihime were determined to survive and ensure special order 937 never made it back to the evil company. No matter how strong the alien was, they would kill it...

Or die trying...

_Hey there, did you miss us? I know I sure did. Anyways, things are finally starting to wind down __now, so don't miss a thing in the next chapter!_


	7. The Confrontation

**The Confrontation**

The weary trio parted ways; Tessai and Orihime heading down to find coolant while Rukia jogged off towards the escape pod. She punched the button inset into the wall and the hatch roared open. She was too impatient to wait for it to open fully so she ducked under it while it was still opening, charging into the escape pod.

She studied the keyboard set out before her and began tapping buttons. She stabbed frantically at the keys, eager to escape and do away with the vicious creature stalking the ship. She silently wished for everyone to make it back safely.

She cursed under her breath and tried to take her mind off of the dread of being attacked and instead focused on the control panels. She flipped several switches and sighed with relief as a great mechanical hum rumbled about outside. An outer hatch on the ship parted to provide a clear path for the smaller ship to move out.

She sat back in her chair and sighed once more, but there was an odd sound that accompanied it, a low sound that gained an upward inflection before going low again. She felt her skin crawl and the hairs on the back of her neck rose up like soldiers to attention. Rukia fell silent and listened closely. The noise came again and she recognized it.

It was a cat's meowing. "Yoruichi...?" She almost laughed; it was just the cat! She was getting frightened over nothing. She rolled her eyes and headed over to a storage unit. There was a small cage inside and she carried it with her back out into the hall.

* * *

Tessai and Orihime pushed a heavy loading cart through the darkened bowels of the ship. The skeletal remains of landing craft and other vehicles filled the room like long forgotten ghosts. The headed to the farthest craft, a landing shuttle and rolled the trolley to a stop.

Tessai adjusted his flamethrower and stood guard while Orihime clambered inside the small vessel. She unscrewed the capsule full of coolant from small compartments in the back of the craft and put them in a pile at her feet.

Tessai scanned the area with military-efficient alertness. Fear drove him to be extra cautious and he checked every hiding place for the insectoid menace. Thankfully no creatures leapt out from the shadows to attack them. He was so absorbed in his guard duty he was startled by the thud of Orihime's feet slapping on the floor beside him.

She loaded up the cart and smiled nervously. "Shall we go?"

Tessai nodded and took the lead, scanning the darkness, probing with the torch attached to the barrel of the makeshift weapon. He charged through into the next room and checked for signs of life. When he was satisfied there were none he waved a hand for Orihime to push the cart through.

There were far more capsules in this room, so Tessai did his part to help as well; extracting the coolant and loading it on the sled with Orihime. The two worked at opposite ends of the room in relative silence. The only noises were the hisses of compressed air when the capsules were removed and the near deafening clang as the clattered against the steel grated floor.

After a while Tessai decided to break the silence, if only for a little while. "How are you doing?" he asked simply.

"Fine," Inoue answered swiftly, her voice cracking from anxiety and the strain of wrenching out the large tubes.

The conversation ended there and the two returned to their task without another word.

* * *

On the floor above Rukia entered the cockpit of the ship. "Yoruichi?" she cooed softly as she stepped through into the dimly lit room. The room was a mess of discarded equipment, machinery, and other assorted objects. A book had been torn up, its pages strewn all over a table. Some had spilled onto the floor.

An intercom overhead spat out occasional noises like steel banging against steel. It was most likely the others collecting coolant so she took little notice. Instead she kept an ear out for other noises. Light padding footsteps came from the further end of the room.

"Yoruichi? Here kitty, kitty. Come on Yoruichi," she purred.

As she neared the location of the earlier footsteps something was knocked to the floor. Rukia's heart started racing and she took a deep breath before calling out the cat's name again. "Yoruichi?" she said fearfully, expecting something else entirely.

She stood over the control panel from which the noises came. Under the seat was an empty abyss of total darkness. Anything could have been hiding in there and from the ominous hissing Rukia was bracing herself for the end.

There was no point in running. If the alien was here, it would easily catch her. She could only hope to kill it before it attacked. She took a deep breath and aimed her weapon at the expansive darkness under the table. She moved forward and saw something lash out in a blur of movement. Her finger reached for the trigger but missed.

Fortunately this was a good thing, because Yoruichi pounced from her hiding spot and landed on the chair beside Rukia's face. When the cat had jumped out Rukia had done the opposite and leapt backwards in fright. She stared at the ball of fluff and cursed.

"Yoruichi. God damn it!" The cat was about to run off again but she picked her up and placed her in the cage. Rukia leaned against the control panel and groaned. "That was stupid..."

* * *

Inoue wrestled with another capsule and threw it to the floor. Sweat was dripping from her forehead but she was too busy to wipe it away. She unscrewed another capsule and turned around to dump it on the floor, barely noticing the large shadow standing nearby. Her gaze passed over it again as she turned back for another lot of coolant. When she dumped this lot of coolant she noticed the shadow move and suddenly her body stiffened.

Tessai became alerted when things went unusually quiet. He lifted his head from his work and spotted the beast standing in the dark hallway nearby. The eyeless creature seemed entranced by the panicking young girl closest to it.

Orihime's eyes widened and her jaw dropped slightly. Her hands were shaking and she wanted so much to scream but she was unable to. She panted heavily as the alien drew nearer.

Tessai fumbled around for his weapon, his eyes glued to the approaching beast. "Oh dear god..."

The alien hissed at its newfound prey.

* * *

The intercom was suddenly blaring with screams and curses and loud thuds. Rukia looked up at the little speaker and frowned. The voices belonged to Tessai and Orihime and from the sound of things, they were in terrible danger.

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way dammit!"

A terrified scream followed.

Rukia leapt up to a console and held down a large button. "Tessai? Inoue? What's going on down there?"

Tessai's angry roars came through again. "Move it Orihime! Get out of the way!"

Orihime whimpered and then another scream escaped through the speakers. There was a series of running footsteps and then a loud thud like a bag of cement dropping on the floor. Rather than ask any more useless questions Rukia turned on her heels and ran off to save her friends.

As she slid down the ladder the screams became louder. They were close, very close. She bounded down the hall, the flamethrower bouncing in her quivering hands. She overheard another ear-splitting scream and an inhuman screech, and then everything went silent.

Rukia stopped dead in her tracks and approached the open hatch in front of her. "Inoue? Tessai?" she whispered faintly, not wanting to draw attention from the wrong listener. She poked her head around the corner and squinted through the darkness.

Tessai was propped up against a wall, covered in blood. Inoue was strung up from the ceiling like a bovine carcass in a slaughterhouse. Blood ran down her lacerated body and pooled on the floor beneath her.

Rukia fought back the surge of bile which rushed up into the back of her throat. She backed up into the hall and retreated, weeping over her lost crewmates. She headed down a pitch black corridor, running a hand along the wall while training the weak beam of light from her torch down the hall.

She ran through into a control room and pulled two large switches on the far wall. She then opened a large metal box in the corner. The underside of the lid was a tapestry of warnings which she skimmed through, distracted by fear and anxiety. She gazed down at the mechanism and frowned. She sobbed weakly while fiddling with the controls.

Eventually a blank panel nearby flashed red and an alarm started blaring through all available speakers on the ship. A calm, female voice alerted her to the danger that awaited her.

_"Auto-destruct sequence initiated. This ship will detonate in T-minus 10 minutes. Emergency override will expire in T-minus 5 minutes."_

Rukia picked up Yoruichi's cage and shouldered her flamethrower before setting off again. She climbed up the ladder as fast as she could, keeping a wary glance down below. When she up on the upper floor she dashed through the winding corridors of the ship in search of the escape pods.

Emergency lights flickered on and off like a strobe in a nightclub although there was no music and rather than a sense of fun, there was overwhelming dread. Rukia pushed on through the semi-darkness and rounded a corner. She sank against the wall and leaned out to check around the bend. At first all she could see was a billowing cloud of steam, but the shining, metallic form of the alien propped up and burst through the steam. It turned its elongated head in search of food.

Rukia ducked back around and sank to the floor, breathing erratically out of panic. She slowly crept back along the wall in the direction from which she came, keeping her gaze fixed ahead of her in case the beast followed. When she didn't see it she turned around and bolted.

The alien tracked her around the corner and found it empty, except for a cage on the floor. It stooped down to study the little creature inside.

Meanwhile Rukia backtracked as fast as she possibly could, her heart hammering in her chest to the point that it was painful. She made her way back to the control room and set her sights on the detonator mechanism.

_"Emergency Override expires in 30 seconds"_

Rukia stabbed the buttons and started putting everything back in place. Four metallic cylinders descended slowly back inside the box. She tried to push them but they did not budge.

_"20 seconds."_

Rukia cursed and tried to unscrew the four cylindrical detonators. The first came of quickly. The second was screwed tighter and she had to strain to release it.

_"5 seconds."_

Rukia ran over to the switches on the wall and pushed the first back into its original position.

_"4 seconds."_

"Captain Commander! I turned the coolers back on!"

_"3 seconds."_

"Captain Commander! Please!"

_"2 seconds."_

She put the other switch back and stared at the panels. They still flashed red. The Captain Commander confirmed her fears.

_"Emergency override has expired."_

Rukia glared at the blinking lights. "Dammit! You fucking bastard!" She hurled the flamethrower at the computer in frustration, though the damage was already done. The emergency override was disabled. The ship was going to explode in five minutes and she would be caught in the devastating explosion unless she made it back to the escape pods.

That of course meant going back...Back to where the Alien was prowling...

Rukia clenched her fists and cursed. She was going to die either way unless she started moving. However at least she could take her chances with the Alien. It was time to face her demon.

The end is near! Thanks so much for reading so far and the scarce reviews have helped. Please review again and help us out for the final stretch.


	8. The Alien

**The Alien**

The Captain Commander refused to stop the self-destruct sequence and the ship was doomed to explode. Rukia had to escape, but last she saw of the alien, the very one she was trying to destroy, it was stalking around the escape pod. Regardless, that was still where she had to go; even if she had to fight the beast to get out she would do it. If it had run off then that would be swell. Either way she was going, and nothing would stop her.

As she made her way back numerous lights shut down, and in no time she was fumbling around through pitch black hallways. To compensate for the lack of sight she pressed down on the igniter of her flamethrower, creating a small orb of dancing, flickering flames to appear at the end of the barrel. She held it out in front of her and used its burning brightness to guide her way through the winding corridors.

It was more laborious than she remembered; steam valves were breaking all around her and a heat unlike anything she had ever felt made the cramped, humid ship feel like an oven. She wiped sweat from her brow and jogged cautiously down the hall. Every now and then she would look over her shoulder to make sure the demonic insectoid wasn't following her, stalking her in the darkness.

Without lights it was the perfect place for the beast to hunt. It's black exoskeleton perfectly hid it from view. It could be hiding anywhere, but Rukia made sure she checked. She wasn't going to get herself killed. All of her crew-members and friends had died, but if it was the last thing she did she _wasn't_.

Now it was her sole duty to destroy the ship, kill the alien, and make sure the company never got it's hands on the wretched extraterrestrial. She would make sure that the vile creature never saw the light of day again.

Rukia started wheezing. The flamethrower was heavy and the stress was wearing her down. She came to the bend where she had last seen the alien and she slowed to a crawl, slowly inching her way around, keeping the barrel of her weapon aimed ahead of her, one itchy finger on the gas trigger.

She peered around the corner, her heart ready to burst out her chest just like the alien had done to Hanatoro in it's infantile stage. That nightmarish moment felt like it had happened years ago, yet it was really not that long. It had only been a few days since this entire ordeal began.

She scanned the area, saw nothing, and leapt out into the open, swinging her weapon this way and that, checking all the places the alien could spring out from. Still, there was no trace.

She was lucky; the alien must have run off in search of it's last morsel of delicious meat. She closed her eyes and sighed, but her joy seemed short-lived a high-pitched hiss made her jump out of fright. She spun her flamethrower around only to come close to killing the ship's beloved cat, Yoruichi.

The little tabby stared up at her, resting on it's haunches with an inquisitive stare. It had misjudged the stranger in the same way. It seemed her fear was mislaid, as it was only Rukia. The two stared at each other silently for a moment before Rukia picked up the cage and dragged it through the open hatch and into a small square room that connected the escape pod with the ship.

She turned back around and unleashed a great burst of brilliant orange flames. They danced around the room, singing the white walls to a blackened crisp. Slowly, Rukia made her way through into the shuttle all the while releasing periodic bursts of fire to keep any unwelcome visitors at bay.

When she finally passed into the shuttle she punched the door release button and the hatch sealed shut.

The ever present alarm became louder now as if requesting attention.

_"The ship will auto-destruct in one minute."_

Rukia panicked. There was little time to waste so she threw herself at the console, jabbing buttons frantically and pulling switches. When the small screen before flashed red she sat back in her chair and closed her eyes. The escape shuttle was lowered via large pistons until it was detached from the ship, then the engines powered up and the vessel hovered in the vast emptiness of space.

Rukia strapped herself in and crossed her arms. A deep sigh ran through her, sending chills through her overworked muscles and rattling her bones. It felt good.

Yet the worst was not yet over.

The ship propelled itself forward, just as the omni-present voice of the Captain Commander echoed through.

_"Ship will self-destruct in twenty seconds. Nineteen. Eighteen. Seventeen. Sixteen..."_

Rukia tuned out, her focus on the large window before her. She could still see the _Nostromo_ above her. The small shuttle had not yet escaped it's mother. If the blast were to go off now she would still be caught in it. She stared at the massive ship above her, her mind screaming to hurry up.

_"Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six..."_

Then Rukia could see the stars above her; she was beyond the _Nostromo _now. She was safe. The ship propelled itself further and Rukia looked out the window at the mothership left behind. She did the final countdown in her head and braced her self for the end.

_Three...Two...One!_

The _Nostromo_ vanished behind a veil of ultra-bright white light. The black veil of space was torn apart by the gigantic white streak which billowed out from where the _Nostromo _used to be. A great resounding boom followed and orange waves were hurled out from the site of destruction.

Rukia was nearly blinded by it and had to turn away and close her eyes to retain what sight she had left..

A secondary explosion followed soon after, spitting great balls of fire into the sky and spreading the great hole in the sky. On the third resulting explosion the entire night sky was devoured by a blaze of bright orange light and the loudest boom emanated from it. The sound of millions of thunderstrikes going off in unison was released into space. The sound was so great it caused it's own shockwave which made the ship jerk about as if it ran into a meteor.

When the lights were absorbed back into the overwhelming darkness and the ship stopped rocking Rukia let out another sigh. For the first time in a while she smiled.

"I got you..." Rukia panted. "I finally got you, you bastard!" She let out a dry chuckled and closed her eyes.

She was so happy, and yet she had no-one to share it with. It made her victory just that little bit hollow, enough to damage her enjoyment and bring her back into the world of reality. Yoruichi's meows were having a similar effect on her as well. She rose up from her seat and approached the cage. Yoruichi purred softly as she opened the lid and picked up the little cat.

Rukia rubbed her face against Yoruichi's own and then she placed her in one of the cryo tubes on the side of the vessel. The cat tried to argue in it's own feline language but Rukia reassured her it was okay. She gently laid the cat inside the chamber and pressed a button at the front. The lid closed over the cat and Rukia waved before moving away.

Exhaustion was gnawing away at her and she too desired nothing more than to sleep, sleep so long she could forget all about this nightmare and wake up back on earth where everything was back to normal. That would be ideal.

She unzipped the front of her thick sweaty vest and threw it to the floor. It felt great for the air to contact her bare arms. Next she slid out of her pants. They too were soaked in sweat and it was a welcome relief to be out of the uniform she had been wearing for several days straight. It was like shedding a layer of skin and it felt nice and fresh now.

It was rather warm in the relatively small vessel so she remained in nothing but her panties and a white top. Modesty wasn't important right now. She was alone and she wasn't going to get self conscious around a cat now, was she?

She fiddled with an overhead monitor and then crossed the room to an open compartment where thick steel pipes were in plain view. Beneath the pipes was another keyboard, this ones controlled the auto-piloting for the ship. She had to reset it before her deep cryo-sleep.

She tapped away at the keys, setting coordinates for home...Home sweet home. She could almost see it now, the real food (as opposed to grey sludge she ate on the _Nostromo_), the open air, the nice people...Her family. It was all so far away yet it felt so close...

Rukia was going off track. She returned her focus to the controls in front of her. She continued to tap away mindlessly until a loud hiss broke her concentration. One of the pipes fell away and rolled out towards her, but there was something wrong. This 'pipe' had fingers and claws and joints. It was a hand. A black, skeletal hand.

Rukia screamed and leapt away from the console just as another of the pipe shifted to reveal the alien's hideous face, it's eyeless bleached skull and razor-fanged jaws. It pried it's mouth open and it's tongue snaked out, revealing it too had it's own set of tiny teeth. More than capable of ripping through flesh and bone.

Rukia ran into a closet as far away from the beast as possible and locked herself inside. She looked down at her half-naked self, goosebumps in full view. Her skin had also gone several shades paler. Her hands trembles as she pressed them against the window set in the door.

The alien was scanning the room with it's non-existent eyes, searching for the meal that had mysteriously vanished. Rukia stared at it. She had never gotten a proper look at the creature as it had always been so fast and she had never wanted to stand around sight-seeing. As she examined it she realized just how monstrous it was. Even worse it still blended in perfectly with the machinery around it, even when it's arm and face were hanging out.

Rukia backed up into the wall and looked to her right. There was a space suit there and a grappling gun clipped to the belt. An idea came to mind and Rukia slowly, silently slid into the bulky suit. She zipped up the front of the suit and fumbled around with the helmet, her hands still adjusting to the thick, stubby gloves. She pressed several buttons on the base of the helmet and small lights lit up around the lower rim of it. Fully suited up she picked up the grappling gun and loaded a hook into the barrel of the weapon.

_I'll get you, you son of a bitch!_

She pushed the door open and inched her way over to the main console in the centre of the room. She made certain her footsteps were as light as possible. The alien didn't turn to look at he,r thankfully, but she was sure the alien knew she was there.

She sat down in one of the seats and clipped the belt over her chest. She kept her eyes glued to the vile beast. She couldn't bring herself to look away but forced herself to do so for just a second so she could check that she was about to press the right button. She braced herself and stabbed the button with one stumpy gloved finger.

Large jets of boiling steam shot out from behind the Alien's armored back. It squealed pitifully as it thrashed about, trying to free itself from the web of pipes and wires it had wedged itself between. More steam erupted, searing the creature's hardened shell and making it scream in agony.

Rukia tried to remain calm, singing a little tune to herself. "You are...My lucky star..."

The infantile screeching from the Alien continued and the beast rolled out from it's hiding place and landed in a crouch on the floor.

"Lucky, lucky, lucky!" Rukia sang, missing most of the notes due to her erratic breathing. She closed her eyes and turned away, still singing the song. It was the only thing keeping her from going mad with fear. She had to remain calm at all costs.

The Alien screamed once more and climbed up the wall until it was on it's feet again. It towered over her. It's shadow enveloped her. She glanced out the corner of her eye and watched as the Alien began crossing over to her, approaching slowly, methodically. It was hunting.

Rukia closed her eyes. "You are, my lucky star...My lucky star..." She gave up singing and instead panted heavily, trying to breathe properly. Her ragged wheezing became louder and louder, drawing the Alien closer. She glanced at it once more and it charged.

The two of them screamed at the top of their lungs, one a cry of fear and the other a battle-cry. Rukia slammed her fist down on another button and the hatch behind the Alien opened. A massive gust of air swept in and then drew out again like a vacuum. In that one deep inhale the Alien was dragged into the hatch. It's claws dug into the ship and the monster refused to let go.

Rukia sobbed as she lined up a shot with the persistent animal. She fired the weapon and the large hook struck the Alien full in the chest knocking it out into space so that the acidic blood which spewed forth would thankfully not damage the ship. Unfortunately the hook did not come free and the Alien dragged the gun with it out into space.

The hatch closed too early leaving the grappling gun stuck firmly in the hatch. The rope outside still connected to the vile Alien who used it to climb back onto the ship. Since the hatch was now shut it moved to one of the unused engines.

Rukia watched it through the window and instantly ran over to the control console and hit the button to fire up the engines. And fire up they did indeed. She bolted back to the window to see the Alien engulfed in the white hot flames blasting out of the engines. The Alien desperately clung onto the ship but the force of the blast upon it's body was too much and it's badly burnt body was hurled into space.

Rukia stared at it in disbelief. It was over. It was finally over.

She wanted to laugh, to cry out triumphantly but the deaths of her friends had not yet passed from her mind and she was stuck in the painful reality that she was alone now. Those friendly faces she had grown to adore would never again be seen again. Despite that tragedy, their sacrifices were not in vain.

Rukia let out a long exhaustive sigh and started to adjust the controls to her cryo-tube. She tapped several keys and the glass lid rose for her to crawl inside. She gave the night sky one last glance before closing her eyes and drifting off into the world of blissful sleep. With the nightmare now passed Rukia could finally dream.

**The End**

_Layman A/N: Well, it's finally over. I must say, I'm glad it turned out as well as it did. _

_But seriously, most of the credit goes to Sir McMullen for actually writing out what started as a vague idea by me. Most of what I did was just touch up stuff here and there. Props man, props._

Well I must say that was fun. I'm sure you enjoyed the story and to all of you who kept patient through the numerous hiatus I just want to say thanks. You helped us so much and your reviews (Though scarce) were a constant help. We had a bumpy start to this story but it seems it has paid off in the end. Also, I must thank The Layman not only for producing the idea and assisting in the writing but for giving reviews when it seemed no-one else would. 

There has been requests for a sequel but for now I don't know whether I'll be able to get around to it, but we'll see what happens. For now, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy our other stories too!


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